Bone flaps are typically reattached into an opening in the skull following a craniotomy or other type of neurosurgical operation using clips, fasteners, and various other types of interconnection instrumentation that penetrate the bone, as well as posts that couple to capture plates that can laterally position the bone flap within the aperture in the skull. A significant limitation of these methods is that they do not allow for a rapid and convenient means or method for the neurosurgeon to de-couple the capture plates, thus enabling either additional access to the brain tissues or re-adjustment of the bone flap position.
There is a need for a fastening and capture mechanism that allows for easy and effective repositioning of the capture plates during the skull closure process, especially in those cases where the surgeon decides to add additional fastening systems following placement and fixation of an initial set of fasteners and capture plates.